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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil for an iftar dinner on Monday night at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence.
Mamdani said he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, welcomed Khalil, his wife Noor, and their child to break the Ramadan fast.
Khalil was a central figure in the anti-Israel protest encampments that spread across Columbia University after the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel.
This past September, Khalil called for the “collapse” of what he described as the “Zionist genocidal project and the ideology of supremacy that it’s built on.”
Mamdani publicly praised Khalil in a post on X, writing that the activist had shown “profound courage.” The mayor also accused federal authorities of punishing Khalil for “exercising his First Amendment rights” while protesting what he described as “the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
For Mahmoud Khalil, this past year has been marked by profound hardship—and by profound courage.
A year ago, Mahmoud was walking home through our city after sharing an iftar with his wife Noor when he was detained by federal agents, flown to Louisiana, and then held in an ICE… pic.twitter.com/6dBtLh0GeT
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) March 10, 2026
Mamdani has built his political identity around fierce opposition to Israel. He frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide and repeatedly refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign targeting Israel and refuses to condemn calls to “Globalize the Intifada.”
On his first day in office in January, Mamdani revoked executive orders issued by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams, that were intended to strengthen protections for New York’s Jewish community, including measures tied to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.
Recent reports also revealed that Mamdani’s wife “liked” social media posts celebrating the October 7 attack and disputing evidence of mass rape committed by Hamas terrorists.
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